


hard to breathe

by peachsneakers



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxceit - Freeform, Cuddling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Scars, Self-Harm, Skin picking, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachsneakers/pseuds/peachsneakers
Summary: Virgil can't cope. His boyfriend helps.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 9
Kudos: 185





	hard to breathe

**Author's Note:**

> for anon prompt: "(tw for s/h) could i request virgil picking at scars that have healed over and janus helping him somehow? maybe with,, smooches,,"
> 
> song lyrics are from thefatrat/slaydit/anjulie "stronger"

_Getting stronger every day_   
_Keep on pushing through the pain_   
_Keep on running till we die_   
_No mercy in this life_   
_There's nowhere left to run away_

Virgil swallows, curling up in a tighter ball on his bed and wishing he'd never stumbled out of it in the first place. Murphy's Law has run roughshod over him the entire day, and by evening, his nerves are high-strung and ready to snap on a moment's notice. His fingers wander over the rough, raised skin of his most recent self harm scars, fingernails catching on the sandpaper-like surface. Sometimes he feels like he could buff his nails on his scars. The thought is macabre, but it brings him a tiny measure of humor.

Not tonight, though. Tonight, the thought of laughter is as far away as the thought of weeping. His fingertips rub harder, nails picking at the edges. It hurts, but it feels very far away, like he's been swaddled in cotton wool, or a hefty dose of Patton's nostalgia. No good memories dwell here right now, though.

Yellow fills his vision, looming above him. Virgil looks up, dazed, into the concerned mismatched eyes of his boyfriend.

"Bad night?" Janus asks quietly. Virgil thinks briefly about lying, then discards it. It's not like it will work against the embodiment of deceit.

"Yeah," he says. His voice is scratchy and rough, like the pebbled surface of his scars. The bed dips under Janus's weight as he sits down, carefully not touching Virgil. Virgil appreciates it for half a second, before flinging himself against Janus's side, getting a surprised oomph of breath from his boyfriend. A moment of hesitation, then one of Janus's arms slides around him, pulling him closer.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Janus asks, into the cloud of Virgil's purple-dyed hair. Virgil shakes his head.

"Not yet," he answers, hoarse. "Today, it was- it was bad."

"Was it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?" Janus asks, surprising a laugh free. It's rusty and cobwebbed, but _there_ , and Virgil sighs, nuzzling against Janus's neck.

"Yeah," he answers. "Something like that."

"I have the world's best prescription," Janus announces. Virgil looks up at him, his eyes full of doubt.

"Really," he says skeptically. Janus nods, looking affronted that Virgil doesn't believe him.

"But of course I do," he says. Another hand slides into Virgil's hair, cradling his skull. "A kiss for every bad thing that's happened today."

"That's an awful lot of kisses," Virgil protests, half-laughing. Janus grins.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to get started, won't I," he says. "After all, you need your rest, I can't keep you up _all_ night..."

"I wouldn't mind if it was for this," Virgil admits, his cheeks flushed red. Janus bends his head, giving Virgil ample time to pull away, before his lips gently brush against Virgil's. Virgil's hand steals up, cupping Janus's face, the scaled side, and admiring the smoothness of the scales beneath his fingertips, so unlike his own.

"You're so beautiful, it's unfair," Virgil breathes against Janus's mouth.

"I'll take full advantage of said unfairness in that case," Janus murmurs. The human side of his face is stained pink and his scales are startlingly lustrous. He rains kisses down on Virgil's face, trailing across his cheeks and down his jaw. Virgil sighs in happiness, his earlier poor mood pushed aside, at least for the moment.

"I love you," he says, stealing a moment to kiss Janus back, firmly, on the mouth. Janus's blush intensifies.

"I simply despise you, storm cloud," Janus murmurs back. Virgil smiles.

"I know," he says.


End file.
